L. W. Currey, Inc.

Scott, Mrs. Sarah (née Robinson). A DESCRIPTION OF MILLENIUM [sic MILLENNIUM] HALL ... AN 18TH CENTURY NOVEL. New York: Bookman Associates, [1955]. Octavo, cloth. First U.S. edition. Includes an 18-page historical "preface" by Crittenden. "... the most important utopian women's novel produced in eighteenth-century Britain" (Fortunati and Trousson, eds., Dictionary of Literary Utopias, pp. 393-4). Sarah Scott (1723-1795) "was an English novelist, translator, social reformer, and member of the Bluestockings. Her most famous work was her utopian novel A DESCRIPTION OF MILLENIUM HALL AND THE COUNTRY ADJACENT (1762), followed closely by the sequel THE HISTORY OF SIR GEORGE ELLISON ... The utopian tale depicts a community of women devoted to artistic pursuits and education, Christian virtues, and philanthropy. The populations they serve include children, the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and the deformed. MILLENIUM HALL provided a fictional example of the ideals of the bluestocking circle; the Bluestockings were a social group of middle- and upper-class men and women who would meet for intellectual discussions and philanthropic service. Like the Bluestockings, Scott's utopian novel presents a 'critique of court politics, culture, and society.' MILLENIUM HALL went through four editions by 1778. Interest in its feminist meaning brought it back into public attention in the late twentieth century" (Wikipedia). Lewis, Utopian Literature, p. 174. Negley, Utopian Literature 1017. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985 (1988), p. 26. A fine copy in fine dust jacket. (#164776).

Price: $150.00